Bush Planning August Attack Against Kerry

[earthside]

Bush Planning August Attack Against Kerry
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ROBIN TONER

New York Times

Published: August 1, 2004

WASHINGTON, July 31 — President Bush's campaign plans to use the normally quiet month of August for a vigorous drive to undercut John Kerry by turning attention away from his record in Vietnam to what the campaign described as an undistinguished and left-leaning record in the Senate.

Mr. Bush's advisers plan to cap the month at the Republican convention in New York, which they said would feature Mr. Kerry as an object of humor and calculated derision.

Here it comes. It's going to be nasty and slime infested. But it's going to backfire. Americans want a positive vision for the future. Go Kerry!

[tritsofme]

1. Fred Barnes of the Weakly Standard outlined it today:

<snip>
The Bush campaign has already produced ads contrasting Kerry's positions then--voting against weapons systems, supporting cuts in military and intelligence spending, opposing aid to freedom fighters, and attacking President Reagan's hard-line policy toward the Soviet Union--with what he says now, and with Bush's positions. Kerry is a ripe target.

The Bush campaign always intended to draw a sharp contrast with Kerry on national security and the war on terror. But now that Kerry has elevated these issues, indeed staked his candidacy on them, it will not seem forced for Bush to concentrate on them. In Boston, Kerry surrounded himself with military brass and former crewmates in Vietnam. Bush will rub shoulders with many more retired generals and admirals in New York. Kerry can't complain. He's made national security the premier issue of the campaign. The underlying Bush theme, of course, is that Kerry can't be trusted to be a strong leader given his Senate voting record, no matter what he says now or what he did in Vietnam.

Bush has plenty of material to work with. Last week at the convention, the Republican National Committee released an 11-minute tape of Kerry's changing positions on Iraq. It's devastating. As primary rival Howard Dean gains among Democrats with his anti-Iraq war message, Kerry goes soft and finally opposes the $87 billion. He caves to political expediency. A New Yorker article on Kerry's foreign policy reinforces this conclusion. A Kerry adviser is quoted as saying, "Off the record, he did it because of Dean." And Democratic senator Joe Biden makes a similar point, saying Kerry sought "to prove to Dean's guys I'm not a warmonger."

As luck would have it for Bush, Kerry and Edwards have also turned 9/11 into a major campaign issue. Just a few months ago, Democrats criticized Bush angrily for an ad that included a fleeting glimpse of Ground Zero in New York City. They claimed he was inappropriately politicizing the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Bush backed off. But now Democrats have embraced the issue noisily. "It's now been over one thousand days since the September 11th terrorist attacks changed our nation," Sen. Bob Graham of Florida declared in his convention speech. "One thousand days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America . . . was rolling to victory in World War II. In this new war on terror, we have not yet secured the beachhead. John Kerry and John Edwards will."
<snip>
http://weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=4428&R=9F1B2350D

What struck me was the "opposing aid to freedom fighers" do they real want to open up things like Iran Contra again?

[Kimber Scott]

7. Kerry spent the convention highlighting his great qualities

I guess since Bush has nothing to highlight about himself, he has to highlight Kerry's great qualities in a different color. So sad, a sitting president has nothing good to say about himself. I believe such attacks on Kerry will be the final nails in the Bush/Cheney campaign coffin.

[JuniperLea]

26. hammer away!

this is going to backfire big time!!! yay!

[Joy Anne]

9. "freedom fighters"

Shall we point out the "freedom fighters" Reagan financed and armed in Afghanistan?

[0007]

25. ....or have we talked about cheney's voting record?

cheney voted against Nelson Mandela being freed, he voted against "Head Start" just to name a few.

[Occulus]

22. Kerry needs to tell everyone

to look for the poison pills in those bills.

[MichiganVote]

2. Bush will look bad in the debates

[pfitz59]

10. What debates?

Shrub can't stand beside Kerry! He'd drown in flop sweat!

[Yavin4]

3. Bush Is Taking The Low Road

Kerry's convention was all about bringing America together as one nation. Bush's convention will be about attacking Kerry. The thing is, the people that hate Kerry are already in Bush's camp. Bush needs to reach out to the independent and undecideds to get that last 5%-8% for a victory, not the Kerry bashers.

Politically, I thought that the Kerry campaign did a brilliant job of boxing in Bush during their convention. The convention wasn't a Bush-hate fest that the Republicans were hoping for. Rather, it was an open appeal to all Americans to come together as one. This leaves Bush with the only option of bashing Kerry which will not help him in the long run.

[Gin]

4. We all gave Rove too much credit for being creative....now that we have

his number...everything he has planned has turned to crap.

They are pulling out their big guns because they are standing on their last leg. I want to watch as they fall flat on their faces...and it's gonna happen sooner rather than later.

I can hardly wait for the debate. Shrub "HAS" to perform this time around...he has a dismal record.. and nothing but his god complex and fear to support him.

[WindRavenX]

5. He can't run on his record anyways...

...so he and Rove are going to slime Kerry. But as others have said, it WILL backfire on him so long as Kerry resists the urge to verballly b*tchslap W in the Debates...
Honestly, I am very curious to see how W behaves in the debates and at the RNC because I don't know what line of attack they plan to use against Kerry...

[DemMother]

8. Any team that comes up with the phrase "turning the corner"...

has been given way too much credit. They are far from the geniuses that the media depicted. Political hacks and dirty tricksters--they're reverting to their origins.

[SquireJons]

20. Oh! How I agree.

"Turning the Corner"

Right. They're lost in the Hirsshorn Museum (which is round) and they think they've turned a corner.

Unbelievable.

Not just the phrase itself, which is a lie, but if that is going to be their campaign slogan, then they will have no one but themselves to blame when everyone blames them for the incredibly week economy. This slogan is worse than Gores "My own man" debacle.

How much do you want to bet that this came not from Rove (who is way too red meat for this) but that Texas woman political guru (I can't think of her name right now, but she wrote bush's last State of the Union speech which was largely seen as a flop)? They might as well put "Bad Economy" in neon lights. This shows internal ruptures within the GOP.

Let the cockfights begin.

[JuniperLea]

29. 'round the bend' is more like it!

i seriously think bush is suffering mental illness! have you seen him lately? seems to me he is struggling to speak without slurring and his eyes frown even when his mouth is in that putred grin!

[TahitiNut]

13. They make up in reckless audacity what they lack in creativity.

It's incredible how they get away with their corruption.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. He only has that option because he's a crappy prez who's running behind.

If he were way up, which he'd presumably be if he hadn't mired the nation in an unnecessary war and presided over a healthy economy during his term, he could take the "high road" of essentially ignoring his opposition, just talking about his great record. That is the traditional for an incumbent who's doing well. And it's smart.

But because he's screwed the pooch, he will have to Kerry bash.

[TahitiNut]

11. The "low road" is higher than he's comfortable ...

... accustomed as he is to taking glee over the death of others - just like his insatiable maggot brethren.

[JuniperLea]

27. we'll see the real haters

when the repub convention starts! can't wait!

[truthisfreedom]

12. look, the only reason they're doing this is because it's the only approach

that cheers bush up. he's depressed as hell, angry and disillusioned. everyone in his camp knows he's only in a good mood when he's hurting someone or something... he's a violent, hateful man. doing as much damage as possible is exactly what he's about... so they're positioning him to bash during this period so he can use his smirk to his best advantage. remember, this is the guy who tortured and killed little animals as a child to get his jollies... destruction is all that makes him happy.

[gauguin57]

14. All I can say to Bushie is ...

BRING IT ON!

Kerry can take care of himself. After all, he actually SHOWED UP FOR DUTY!

Bush is a lying Manchurian Candidate shill for the most evil impulses of corporate America. He's a divider, a mean-spirited little shit. He lacks intelligence, compassion and interest in anything but his damned hick-ass ranch and his fat-cat buddies.

Bring it on, you Cheneying Hillbilly! I will enjoy watching John Kerry CLEAN YOUR CHENEYING CLOCK in November.

[Melodybe]

17. In defense of hillbillies everywhere Bush is from Connecticut

Bush may have gone to Kincaid, the most elite private school in all of Texas BTW, for junior high, but he was born in, raised in, and went to college in the north.

How pissed would the freepers be if they found out that their hero is a dirty yankee? Sometimes I feel so sorry for them.

Anyway, I also agree that it will backfire, and from here until Nov. I will also be saying "Bring it on."

[gauguin57]

18. He can be from wherever he wants to be from ...

... he's still an effing hillbilly! Jethro Bodine has more style, class, intelligence and command of the English language than George W. Bush.

Weeeee doggies!

It pisses me off to no end that all the reporters are forced to stand in front of that damned SHACK on his Crawford ranch when he's on the (permanent) vacation. Yeah, Jethro, it's folksy as heck and all ... but DAMMIT ... how does it look to the rest of the world that those reporting on the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD are standing in front of a freaking SHACK?

"They hate us for our freedom?" GIVE ME A BREAK! They hate us because YOU ARE A NINCOMPOOP, you HILLBILLY!

[JuniperLea]

28. he is the 'manCHENEYan' candidate!

i can't imagine him retaining ALL of his followers. this is awfully early in the game to be planning this sort of bash fest! i have confidence in kerry being able to diplomatically correct the LIES bush is planning on telling, and the spins, with sound reasoning.

debate! debate! debate!!!

[Tom Kitten]

15. nothing wrong with a "left-leaning record"...

All those in charge responsible for our dismal state have a "right-leaning record"....sometimes a change in a nation's
direction does a people good!

[Swamp Rat]

16. The title should say: "Bush planning attack against Americans."

I can't WAIT for these assholes to get nasty. I know a few repukes that always say how "nasty are those Democrats." My mantra will be: "How un-Christian." - over and over again. This will be a good time to reprogram the Bush-Bots while their systems intermittently shut down.

[SquireJons]

19. "Bush planning on attacking President Kerry in '05"

... is what I was thinking.

[drdtroit]

21. Nope, NORAD will actually scramble jets

under PRESIDENT KERRY! :thumbsup:

[JuniperLea]

30. exactly!

thou shalt not kill... thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (or thy opposing candidate!)

and on the gay issue... who are they to sit in judgement? isn't that a basic christian stance? same goes for abortion! passing socially judgmental laws is downright un-christian if you ask me!

[radfringe]

23. he's been attacking Kerry since

the time it was apparent that Kerry won the nomination

hasn't done much good, has it?

meanwhile - so much for optimism when 80-90% of bush* ads are attack ads. Why isn't bush* running on his record - could it be because he has a record of miserable failures?

[colonel odis]

24. it's the economy, stupid.

people vote their pocketbooks. i'm not sure how wise it is for kerry to stake his candidacy on anything foreign policy related.

but isn't the bush campaign always about to pull out something that will allegedly devastate the kerry campaign? for some reason i remember sean hannity braying a few months back about having some bombshell that would make kerry immediately withdraw.

thursday night, it looked like he was still in.

[JuniperLea]

31. i keep hearing this too

they keep saying to just wait because of this huge bombshell that is going to crush kerry. well, where is it? probably hiding in iraq with the other wmd.

[VolcanoJen]

32. Dupe... locking

Please continue discussion within the original LBN thread on this topic, which can be found here:

Bush Planning August Attack Against Kerry - by shawn703

Thanks!

VolcanoJen
DU Moderator